Released on Jan. 29, 2015, Life is Strange is an environmental interactive adventure video game. Developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix, Life is Strange is from the perspective of Max, a regular senior photography student at Blackwell Academy who discovers she can rewind time when she saves her best friend Chloe from being shot. As the two best friends figure out a way for Max to use her powers, they discover something strange is going on in Arcadia Bay. Together, they work to figure it out through finding out what happened to a missing Blackwell Academy student.

Max’s room in Life is Strange.

Life is Strange is a game that allows the player to rewind time. By rewinding time, the player is able to relive social interactions and change their decisions, which results in different consequences for Max in the game. This allows the player to relieve a variety of different endings for the game. Life is Strange is also divided into a total of five episodes, which gives the player the opportunity to change their decisions in the episodes if they want.

When I first started playing Life is Strange, I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it. I knew it was a game that I wanted to play, but didn’t know what my feelings were going to be towards it after playing. But since I’ve started Life is Strange, I’ve gotten nothing but pure enjoyment from playing it. I’ve enjoyed Life is Strange since playing it because I love the high school vibe the game gives the player. You get to play as a high school student who is trying to figure out what to do with her new powers while still trying to get through everyday life. Max not only has to deal with how to handle her new powers, but how to deal with issues at school, such as bullying, suicide, rape, and abuse. These issues bring Life is Strange to a new level that hasn’t been explored in other video games and I enjoy seeing these issues brought to life in this game.

The heart wrenching scene with Kate in Life is Strange. Those who’ve played know what’s going on here. The choice you make here determines what happens to her next.

Another component to Life is Strange that I really enjoy is seeing how the choices you make in the game impacts the other characters. As I mentioned earlier, there are many different choices you can make when in uncomfortable social situations with Max. However, the choice you decide to stick with is what determines what’s going to happen later in the game. I love this aspect to the game because you can rewind time after having those uncomfortable conversations and make a different decision and then see how it plays out. It really brings to the surface the saying that “actions have consequences.”

Life is Strange is also an enjoyable game to me because I like how you can interact with the environment. From looking at an object to taking pictures of the world around you, there are so many little things as the player that you can look at that I find to be a charming aspect in this game. By looking at these objects and taking pictures, you are able to add more material to Max’s journal so that you get one step closer to collecting everything in Life is Strange.

The one thing in Life is Strange I don’t particularly care for are the controls. While moving Max around isn’t too bad, I find that whenever I play, there are a lot of times my game lags and I feel like I’m unable to do anything. It also affects my social interactions too because whenever I talk to people in the game, they sometimes say the same word over again two or three times during dialogue. I know that’s an issue I can’t control, but I don’t really like the controls for Life is Strange because of it.

Overall, I enjoy playing Life is Strange. The game has a lot to offer to those interested in playing and I would recommend this game to anyone interested. However, for those who aren’t comfortable with playing a game that deals with issues such as rape, abuse, suicide, bullying, and violence or don’t want to play a game that is very emotion heavy, I don’t recommend Life is Strange to you. For now though, I look forward to continue playing Life is Strange and seeing what’s going to happen next to Max and Chloe with the decisions I have made.

4 thoughts on “First Impressions: Life is Strange”

It’s a pretty enjoyable game. There are a lot of storytelling elements in the game that really make it interesting to play and it’s more focused on the story and the main character’s ability to rewind time with the choices you make than anything else. But it’s also interesting because you can change your choices after you make them as long as you don’t leave the place your at to see what the other outcome can be. But I definitely recommend it to anyone whose interested in games based off of high school students and people who enjoy games where you learn a lot about the characters you interact with.

I see, sounds pretty time-shifty haha. I’ll check it out! I like decision based games as well and in fact I’ve played the walking dead game by Telltale which was really emotionally gripping. It’s also a decision based game where your choices will influence what happens afterwards. It’s really good.